Property Development in the A.C.T. - The Wildlife Refugees

Описание: Why all wildlife advocates in the ACT should be concerned with Canberra's spending and budget deficit:
We made this video to help demonstrate the connection between the selling off of wildlife habitat and the budget deficit, the fact that Planning and Treasury is overseen by the same man, which as Albert Oberdorf points out, may represent a conflict of interest, and the struggles of the department of the Environment to get its needs met in this political environment. It is heart wrenching to have to watch parklands being cleared of life for the sake of making interest payments.

This rough edit is the result of a two year study of the process of property development in the A.C.T. for the development of our film The Wildlife Refugees addressing Canberran wildlife in the face of urban development.

It features interviews with David Pocock, Independent Senator for the A.C.T.- currently fighting for "A Vision for the Western Edge" and handing back the area to the first nations community rather than letting The Riverview Group and The Suburban Land Agency develop it,
Rebecca Vassarotti - former Minister for the Environment,
Albert Oberdorf of the Canberra Planning Action Group,
as well as two property developers we chose as protagonists due to their collaborations within the design and wildlife communities:
Nikos Kalogeropoulos of Molonglo - with a regenerative design focus building on 'brown field' or former industrial land, and David Maxwell of The Riverview Group - building over "green field" in Ginninderry and now The Western Edge, and at present the only developer to partner with local wildlife organisations.

Obvious limitations of this video include the lack of a Ngunnawal voice. We tried, but have so far been unable to succeed in getting an interview. If you know of anyone you can introduce, connect us to, and schedule us with, we would be very appreciative.

For now we recommend this video:

   • The Western Edge - an alternative vision  

Additionally, we acknowledge this rough edit could benefit from statements of Andrew Barr and The Suburban Land Agency. However, we have to prioritise individuals who have demonstrated support for wildlife, biodiversity, the environment, and/or design thinking because at the moment, we rely on donations and self-funding. Every interview costs us for transportation, hard drive storage and often the cost of a cinematographer as we don't even have a camera.

We are grateful to Davinci Resolve for offering a free version editing tool.

Music has not been added as we find it is negatively altered when processed on these platforms.

Additional cinematography credits:
Bradley Cramer: David Pocock, David Maxwell and Rebecca Vassarotti interviews. Nature footage.
Regan Pearse: Nikos Kalogeropoulos Interview, December 2025

#canberra #wildliferescue #australianwildlife #propertydevelopment #morethanhumandesign